Tuscumbia

There is a lot of history within the city limits of Tuscumbia.

Perhaps the best known Tuscumbian is Helen Keller, who overcame blindness and deafness to become "America’s First Lady of Courage." She went on to lecture worldwide and write numerous books. Her childhood home, Ivy Green, is open for daily tours.

Her name is also attached to the Helen Keller Festival, a summer event that attracts hundreds from surrounding areas and states.

Another famous Tuscumbian is Pro Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Heinie Manush. He played 17 seasons and finished with a .330 batting average. He played for the Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Red Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pirates. He is likely best known for the 1926 American League batting race. Manush went six-for-nine in a doubleheader on the final day of the season to edge legendary Babe Ruth for the batting title.

Tuscumbia, thanks to the emergence of steamboat travel on the Tennessee River and the development of a railway, became a giant in the trade industry. The decline of passenger train service ultimately led to the demise of the town’s rail service, but the Tuscumbia Depot and Museum documents that history. The depot is being restored to its 1888 look.

Tuscumbia became the county seat for Colbert County in 1867 and retains that status today. The county courthouse was built in Tuscumbia in 1882 and remains a fixture of the town. This structure was chosen to represent Alabama as one of the historic courthouses in America and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame is also in Tuscumbia. A state-run operation, the hall has a wealth of mementos of some of the most talented musicians in the industry - all with strong ties to Alabama.

The Tennessee Valley Art Center provides rotating exhibits of the visual arts and also has a permanent exhibit of aboriginal art, which is also known as petroglyph.




History

Tuscumbia traces its roots to the 1700s when the area was settled by the French, but the town was destroyed in 1786. The Chickasaw Indians later moved to the area, taking advantage of the Big Spring area that still provides the water supply for the town. The federal government built a military road through the town in 1817-1819, which opened the area for trade.

The town was incorporated as Ococoposa in 1820. The name was soon changed to Big Spring and was changed again in 1822 by a vote of the residents who favored naming the town Tuscumbia after a Chickasaw Indian chief living in the town.

With steamboats being introduced on the Tennessee River, Tuscumbia cashed in by building a landing on the river in 1824. A huge trade business grew and ultimately led to the creation of Tuscumbia Railway Co. in 1830, becoming the first railroad west of the Appalachian Mountains. Only a short time later, another railroad was built connecting Tuscumbia to Decatur, a 43-mile stretch. The combination of rail and steamboats put Tuscumbia on the main route to what was the American Southwest at the time. Tuscumbia doubled in size in just two years.

The railroads became costly to the town during the Civil War, however, as Union troops tried to prevent supplies from getting to Confederate soldiers, and the railroads were the targets. It took nearly 20 years for Tuscumbia to rebound from the war. Yet, Tuscumbia grew as a rail center around the turn of the century, with 18 passenger trains stopping in town daily.